Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Final drainline work

Joel Cohen and his crew recently completed the replacement of the sanitary line that runs from the basement of our house to the city sewer line in the street. The previous pipe had been improperly connected at the basement. In lieu of using a coupling to attach the drain line to the pipe on the exterior, a previous owner had just poured concrete into the larger pipe to attach the two. Hmmm...smart thinking, guys. This made it a little bit more difficult for us to replace the lines, but Joel and his crew (basically, his son) got the job done. The photo below shows the existing cast iron pipe under the sidewalk which was completely rotted out.

It's unclear how long this pipe has been in this condition. We had shut the water off at the property in anticipation of not needing it for a year or so while we were going through the design & permitting stages of the project. Apparently the condition of drain pipes rapidly deteriorates when water is completely shut off, as occasional flushing of the pipes ensures that minerals do not build-up enough to cause damage. The next set of photos shows the new ABS connection line and the vertical ventilation shaft that rises up to the level of the sidewalk.

Since looking at photos of sanitary lines isn't necessarily everyone's idea of a good time, we'll end on a few fun pictures. Along with tearing up the sidewalks comes the inevitable large machinery. Our son, Nicholas, is almost 2 yrs old and like many boys his age- or any age for that matter- he has a new-found obsession with anything with wheels, wings, propellers, or tracks. David (Joel's son) noticed how enamored Nicholas was with the backhoe and offered to lift him up for a ride. Nicholas helped him with the controls for a few minutes and was wide-eyed the entire time. Lucky kid!

This blog documents the renovation of our personal residence, a 100-yr. old rowhouse in Philadelphia. We learned so much along the way that we wanted to share our experience and research with others.

We'd love to hear from you. Contact us at info[at]solibs.com or visit our company website: solibs.com.

Photos of the house

Project Specs

The original two-story house was 900 SF without a functional kitchen, plumbing that barely worked, and significant roof damage. It was essentially a liveable shell, but it had solid bones and plenty of potential.

We gutted the entire house while salvaging & recycling as much as possible along the way. By adding a third floor and extending the house at the rear, we'll ultimately have 1,850 SF with 3 BR/2.5 BA/Study, as well as a full unfinished basement for storage.

The project is currently registered with the USGBC and is pursuing LEED for Homes Platinum certification.To see Floor Plansand Elevations of the project, see the Wednesday, May 7th blog post.

We have successfully installed a stormwater planter in front of Montrose Green. And what exactly is a "stormwater planter", you as...

Bench Dog Design

Bench Dog Design is the creative team behind the design & fabrication of several key features of Montrose Green including the stair treads, bartop, vanity cabinet, wall surfacing, outdoor bench, and roof access ladder. All of these elements were made from locally salvaged wood and fabricated in Bench Dog's own Philadelphia workshop.

Open House Party - 7/11

A big thank you to the nearly 300 people who joined us on 7/11 to tour the house! For those who missed the big event, check out the upcoming Open House schedule above. Click the image above to see a slideshow of photos from the party!